the democrats did not want to extend all the tax cuts. they only wanted to do some of the tax cuts. and he was trying to create an impression of the time that republicans were obstructing the process. but in reality, they were respecting the agenda and creating an environment that they can win politically. and he said right after this quote, a rare weekend session in the senate -- he had to senate's side by side. no republicans and he set this up and show that republicans were obstructionist. but they would not go along with what he said is that the country. this is a public relations ploy designed to shift the democrat ability to go along with what republicans have to do. the republicans are saying we don't want to go along with what the democrats want to do. in short, he was seeking to control the agenda and i think that's the real issue. certainly, there are times when minorities of both parties both needed to or wanted to. but the real issue is one of agenda control. we actually have a way to think about this. in political science. if you look at the way that the house majority